


Pokémon Ultra Sun 2

by AshREvans



Category: Pocket Monsters: Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon | Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Versions
Genre: F/M, Original Character is for plot, Original Character(s), Original Team, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags May Change, Team Sun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 15:11:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12914529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshREvans/pseuds/AshREvans
Summary: Ten years have passed since the events of Ultra Sun. Rainbow Rocket has been defeated, Lusamine's plan has been put to a stop. Gladion left for Kanto and Lillie and Hau stayed on Alola. A lot has changed in those ten years. _____ is still the reigning Alolan Champion, Hau is now the Kahuna of Melemele Island as well as one of the four members of the Elite Four. Lillie is Co-President of the Aether Foundation along with her brother who is still traveling through the regions. The Island Challenge has also changed quite a lot as well. Kantonian Traditions mixed with Alolan's to create an Island Challenge unique and fun for trainers of all regions.However there is a group of people who threaten the new peace and prosperity of Alola. The Nefarious Team Sun don't like these new changes to Alola and have started to cause trouble. Will our heroes reunite to take them down? And will _____ be able to reconnect with someone she hasn't seen in over a decade? Will peace be restored to Alola once again or is this team more powerful then all those that came before them?





	1. Chapter 1

My hand reached up to wipe the tears away from the face of the child that came to challenge me. I was crouched in front of them and gave them a small smile.

"It's okay, kiddo," I said to them. "A loss doesn't mean that it's over forever. You just have to train up more and get stronger. Think of this as a starting point. There's always room for improvement."

The little boy sniffled and rubbed at his eyes, looking up at me. "R-really?" He said.

I nodded and ruffled his hair. "Really. I'll still be here to challenge again whenever you want." I smiled reassuringly. "And if you would like, I'd be more then happy to train with you, too."

The boys eyes lit up and he lowered his hands. The look of childlike wonder and excitement was something I never grew tired of. "Really? You'd do that?"

I nodded and put my hands on my knees. "Of course!"

"Wow, thank you!! You're so nice!" He said and he grinned widely. His two front teeth were missing and it brought a smile to my face to match his.

"I'm here to help the trial-goers just like the Gym Leaders and Kahunas," I said and straightened up, offering the boy a hand. "Now how about I get you home?"

"Yes! Thank you!" He said.

I smiled down at him and I left the boy out of the Pokémon League.

*     *     *

After I has led the boy back to his home on Ula'Ula island. I took a Pokéball from my belt and threw it up in the air. It opened and Charizard popped out. I caught the ball again and pet my dragon-like Pokémon. He made a sound of approval and looked at me.

"Ready to go home?" I asked.

With another sound of approval Charizard bent down and let me climb up onto his back. With a few pats on his neck he took off, his wings flapping hard to get us airborne. I loved flying on my Pokémon, more then I enjoyed Mantine Surfing. The air whipping through my hair... the reflection of the sun on the ocean below... seeing the islands down below, little blots of land in between swaths of blue water. It was exhilarating.

Finally we landed in front of my moms house on Melemele Island. I took out Charizard's Pokéball and returned him before clipping the ball back to my belt. Without even bothering to knock I walked inside, our Kantonian Meowth announcing my presence by meowing and pawing at my legs. Mom was in the kitchen cooking and when I leaned against the counter, she turned and smiled at me.

"I wasn't expecting you so soon. I'm still cooking dinner, sweetheart," she said.

I simply shrugged. "Not a lot of challengers today. Honestly I thought I was going to be late because I walked a little boy home who challenged me." I rested my chin in the palm of my hand. "He was sweet and I felt bad beating him, but... It would be cruel of me to let him beat me only for him to be beaten by someone else."

"I suppose you have a point there," Mom said and turned back to the stove. "Though, are you sure you don't want to pass the title of Champion on to someone else? It's been ten years and I know you've gotten... bored of it. Even Hau has seen it, though I guess that's not saying much since he sees you basically every day, what with him being in the Elite Four now and all."

"You're rambling, mom," I said and shrugged. "And sure, battling isn't as fun as it has been since I became champion, but part of that is my fault. I could have stopped training my Pokémon so much, but I don't want to give my title to just anyone. I've grown... attached to it, I guess."

"If you say so," Mom replied. "I just want you to be happy, sweetheart."

"Thanks," I said and stood up. "Let me know when dinner is ready. I'm going to turn on the TV."

"Sure thing."

I walked from the kitchen to the living room and sat down on the couch. Pulling out another Pokéball I released my Sylveon, and allowed the colorful pink fairy Pokémon to curl up on my lap as I flipped through the channels. I settled on the news, as nothing particularly bad happened on Alola and it was always nice to hear about cute, heart warming stories.

But today was different then all the rest.

"A Nefarious Team Sun has attacked two Kantonian native trainers earlier today," the newscaster was saying. "Making off with three of their Pokémon. We still don't know what these people want with the Kantonian trainers or their Pokémon, but I don't think it's anything particularly good. Back to you, Joe."

"Thanks Natalia," the man said as the camera shifted over. "Those Team Sun guys... it's been a few months since they first started showing up, but the violence has only escalated. They haven't revealed their goals yet, but I think things will only get worse before they start getting better. I just hope it doesn't start getting too bad."

"Me too," said the co-anchor. "Me too."

"The state of the world today..." I looked up to see Mom standing behind me as she was holding two plates of food in one hand and a bowl in the other. "You haven't run into any of those Team Sun hooligans have you?"

I shook my head. "No. The Elite Four and I decided to ban them from the Pokémon League because of the violence they start against the other trainers."

"Well, good," Mom said. "I know you can handle yourself, being 21 now and all, but still, I worry."

"I know," I said and held out my hand for my plate.

She handed me one as well as the bowl and I realized it was full of Pokébeans. Sylveon perked her head up and sniffed at the bowl. I giggled and set it down next to me on the couch. She made a happy sound before she dug into the bowl of beans.

"Thanks," I said and smiled at Mom as she sat down next to me.

"No problem. I should be thanking you for coming home at least once a week to visit me," she said and ruffled my hair.

I swatted at her hands before I started to eat.

*     *     *

When I returned home after dinner and a chat with mom, RotomDex popped out of my bag and hovered around my head as I bustled around, getting ready to sleep.

"Those Team Sun guys look like serious business," Rotom said.

Letting out a sigh, I flopped down on the couch and threw my head back over the top. I let out a yawn and closed my eyes. Then I looked at it and shrugged. "We'll just take care of them like we did Team Rainbow Rocket if they get out of hand."

I couldn't believe that it had been ten years since Rainbow Rocket took over the Festival Plaza and tried open the Ultra Wormholes. Ten years since I completed the Island Challenge and became the Alolan Champion. Ten years since... Gladion left for Kanto. I let out a sigh and picked out the Ultra Ball that had the Silvally he gave me as a Type: Null. Well... actually Miss Wicke gave it to me after he left, but the idea is the same.

Turning it around so the button was out, I released the Pokémon. Silvally stood in my living room and shook out its head and then looked at me. I smiled and sat up straight to pat its head. It looked kind of sad, but it affectionately pressed its head into my hand and closed its eyes.

"You miss him too, huh?" I said.

Silvally nodded and I reached into my bag and pulled out a rainbow pokébean from my bag and handed it to my Pokémon. While it ate the bean, RotomDex spoke again.

"You know you could go find him. Take time off from taking challengers. I'm sure the Elite Four and the Gym Leaders will understand," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, no. What would I say? Before I challenged the Elite Four ten years ago he said that while we aren't enemies we weren't exactly friends. It would just be stupid. Besides, I can't neglect my responsibilities."

"A lot can change in ten years," Rotom said. "Just look at the Island Challenge."

I let out a sigh. Rotom was right that a lot has changed since I did my Island Challenge. The trials became Gyms and the Captains became Gym Leaders. We even found a dragon gym leader to take over the Dragon Gym. It was a man by the name of Ryuki and he had challenged me after I had become champion. Naturally when I asked that he become a gym leader, he accepted. The Kahuna's were still Kahuna's and they were the last challenge the Challengers had to face before moving on to the next island. It was an interesting mix of Alolan and Kantonian traditions and it worked really well.

"Things may have changed on the island, Rotom, but things wouldn't have changed with me and Gladion when I haven't seen or heard from him since he left."

"You're friends with his sister, why don't you find out from her what he's up to. You could say that Silvally misses him."

I sighed and shook my head. "I'll pass. No need for Lillie to know that I'm worried about that idiot."

"All right. Well... you should get some sleep then I guess," Rotom said before he went back into my bag.

I stared sightlessly for a moment before Silvally nudged me with its head. I blinked and looked at it, petting its muzzle.

"Sleep is probably a good idea, huh?" I said. "I have to meet Hau and Lillie tomorrow anyway."

Picking up the pokéball again, I returned Silvally before I stood up and walked into my room.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning when my phone started ringing off the hook. Groaning I reached over and picked it up, not bothering to hold the device to my ear, already having a feeling who it was.

"_____!!! WAKE UP!!" Hau's voice screamed through the receiver.

I flinched despite the distance between his shout and my eardrum. "Hau, must you scream like that every time you call me?" I said and moved the phone to my face.

"Sorry I just wanted to make sure you were awake," he said. "Lillie and I are already here. Get your ass in gear and meet us. The usual place."

I sighed. "Yeah. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"You have fifteen!" And the line went dead.

I rolled my eyes. Hau was still my best friend but ever since he became Kahuna he liked to do this thing where he tried to make me move faster by giving me time limits. It rarely worked, however. Regardless, I crawled out of bed and got changed and did everything else that I needed to do before I left my house. Locking the door behind me I started walking to the usual spot.

Melemele Island hasn't changed much since I did my island challenge except that a hop skip and a jump away from Verdant Cave there was Ilima's Pokémon Gym. Hau'oli city was still much the same, save for new shops that would pop up here and there for tourists. The place that I was going was one of those places that was largely unchanged over the years.

The beach just outside Kukui's house.

Kukui still lived there and still researched Pokémon, but he let us meet there once a week to hang out. Sometimes he joined us. It was a safe place for us to meet up and let our Pokémon loose and catch up with Lillie. As I walked, I knew I was close when I spotted my moms house. I turned down the path and when I saw the beach, I already saw Hau and Lillie there with their Pokémon out.

Solgaleo and Lunala were just lounging out on the sand and Lillie was trying to feed them pokébeans. Hau's Pokémon were napping or chasing each other, his Decidueye lounging near his trainer while being fed malasadas. I reached on to my belt and took out my pokéballs before I tossed them up in the air. All of my Pokémon popped out, looking excited. Silvally and Charizard stayed near me while Sylveon, Haunter, Lycanroc and Torracat took off the play with the other Pokémon.

Hau looked over as soon as Sylveon streaked passed him and I waved. He perked up, jumping up and walked over.

"I see you finally made it," Hau said. "You're late, as usual."

"I'm only punctual when it comes to my league duties. You know this," I teased back and followed him back to where Lillie sat.

I sat down next to her and Charizard sat behind me, curling up as it rested its head by my side and its fiery tail wrapped around Silvally which sat down next to me. Both Pokémon were very protective of me and I loved them both to death. I pet Charizard's head and held out a pokébean for Silvally who ate it happily.

"It's good to see you, _____," Lillie said.

I smiled at her. "It's good to see you, too," I said. "Week been good at the Aether Paradise?"

Lillie nodded. "Yes! Gladion and I made some changes for the better recently and we hope that will make the Aether Foundation better than ever!"

I nodded. "Speaking of Gladion, how has he been lately? Any idea if he'll be coming back soon?"

"He's doing fine. I heard Silvally is getting much stronger."

At the sound of its name, my Silvally perked its head up and looked at Lillie. I giggled and pat its head. "Not you, Gladion's Silvally," I told it, causing it to let out a sigh and lower its head again and go back to sleep. Or pretend to sleep anyway.

"Your Silvally misses him, huh?" Lillie said.

"Yeah, I think so. So it'd be pretty nice if he came back so Silvally can see him again," I said.

"I wish I could tell you when he would come back, but sadly, I don't know," she replied.

I shrugged. "Eh, no big deal. I'm sure he'll turn up eventually."

"Oh just give up on him, _____," Hau said. "You should just go out with me instead!"

I blinked and looked at Hau. "What?"

"You heard me," Hau said and smirked.

Lillie giggled. "Oh stop teasing her," she said. "It can't be easy liking someone you haven't seen in over ten years."

I felt my face heat up as both of my friends teased me. I looked to the side as I spoke. "I do not like him," I said. "Silvally just misses him and it would be nice for it to see him."

"Mmhmm, thats exactly why you want him to come back," Hau said. "If you ever get tired of waiting, you know where to find me."

"Ugh why me?" I groaned and covered my face with my hands.

Silvally lifted its head again and nudged my head, thinking that I was genuinely upset. I wrapped my arms around its neck and hid my face even better. Charizard even woke up from its nap and looked at my friends.

"Uh oh, _____'s dragon woke up, looks like we can't tease her anymore," Hau said sounding almost disappointed.

Lillie laughed. "It was about time to stop anyway. It's only fun when she doesn't hide."

Hau laughed in agreement for a moment before he turned serious. "Have you guys been keeping up with the news lately?" He asked.

I lifted my head out of Silvally's neck. "Yeah. I was watching last night."

Lillie sighed. "You'd think that after all these years, things would be peaceful again."

"Yeah, you'd think," Hau said. "Just the other day I heard of this trial goer that challenged me. He was from Johto. They were attacked on Ula'Ula Island just before they went to challenge Acerola by the Team Sun guys."

"Did they get their Pokémon stolen?" Lillie asked.

"Yeah," Hau said. "These Team Sun guys mean business."

"Agreed. On the news they said that they attacked some kids from Kanto and ran off with some of their Pokémon, too," I said. "I think we should start doing more than banning them from the Pokémon League. We need to take care of them."   
"What are we going to do, though?" Lillie asked. "They're really strong. Some of the trainers at the Aether House on Ula'Ula Island had a hard time fending them off before they could steal those Pokémon."

I let out a sigh. "I think... I'll have to take some time off from the League," I said and looked at Hau. "You, too, and we can go take care of this Team Sun. Find out what they're planning to do with all the Pokémon from other regions."

Hau nodded and leaned back on his hands, looking up at the sky. "Yeah. We need to keep Alola safe place for trainers to take on the Island Challenge. We can't let these guys go on doing what they want. They're not relatively harmless like Team Skull was."

"We'll talk to the rest of the Elite Four later on then."

"What about me?" Lillie asked. "I can help now, too. I have Solgaleo, Lunala and Necrozma. I can be useful."

I smiled at Lillie. "We'd love the help, really." I said honestly.

"Yeah! The more strong trainers and Pokémon the better chance we have of taking care of this," Hau agreed.

Lillie smiled and nodded. "Thank you guys," she said.


	3. Chapter 3

I stretched and yawned as I lounged on my throne in the Pokémon League. There hadn’t been a single challenger all day and honestly, this was more boring then battles I knew I could win without even trying. I had nearly fallen asleep with my legs propped over one of the armrests and my head leaning back against the other when I heard a voice. 

“Should the Island Champion really be lounging around like that when there's a challenger here ready to take her on?” The voice sounded strangely familiar, like a deeper tone of a voice I knew.

I jumped, not expecting it. My knee hit my forehead and then my head went back and hit the arm rest. Pain lanced from both sides of my head and I had to take a second to fight off dizziness and regain my composure. It took longer than expected and when I finally did, I had maneuvered myself into a sitting position to look at my challenger. 

He looked older than a lot of the people who came to challenge me, aside from Lusamine, Guzma and Kukui. There was something strangely familiar about him, too. He was tall and lanky. I didn’t think he weighed more than a buck fifty… wet. His hair was a pale almost white blonde and fell over one side of his face, obscuring it. He wore mostly black and red tattered clothes. The hood he had pulled over his head was reminiscent of Hau’s Decidueye’s hood except black. There were slashes through the black denim of his pants. I couldn’t make out his face but something about him reminded me of someone. I just couldn’t place who he was. 

Since he saw me lounging, I felt that I shouldn’t bother keeping up the pretenses of professionalism as I spoke. “If you had to sit around all day waiting for challengers like me, you’d understand just how boring it can be.” 

“Then how about I help cure that boredom,” said the man. “And take your title as Champion.” 

“We’ll just have to see if you can beat me,” I said and pulled off my first pokéball from my belt, tossing it up and catching it. “I haven’t stayed the champion for ten years for no reason.” 

“Then show me those skills you talk so highly of,” the man said and tossed out a pokéball onto the field. 

Crobat appeared on the field and I threw the ball out that I was holding. Charizard appeared before me, hovering over the ground, ready to listen to my instructions and take on this mysterious challenger. We stood there for several breaths, evaluating the Pokémon sent out and the best way to take them down. Just when I opened my mouth to shout a move, the challenger beat me to it. 

“Crobat use Cross Poison!” he shouted. 

“Charizard get out of the way and then use Dragon Pulse!” 

Charizard dodged opened its mouth, directing a the beam of its Dragon Pulse at the batlike Pokémon. It was a solid hit, but not enough to cause the Pokémon to faint. 

“You got this, Crobat,” the challenger said. “Use Steel Wing!” 

I didn’t get a chance to tell Charizard to get out of the way as the Crobat flew at my Pokémon. Its wings slashed into Charizard, knocking it back a bit. Thankfully my Pokémon stayed standing. I reached into my bag, thinking that I could use a potion, but when I got a good look at the Crobat, I noticed that I think Charizard could handle the one more attack it would take to bring it down. I smirked. 

“Charizard use Inferno!!” I shouted and watched as my Pokémon’s fire engulfed the challenger.

The arena lit up with the fire and when it died down, the Crobat was on the ground, knocked out. The challenger tsked and pulled the Pokémon’s ball out and recalled Crobat before throwing out another one. My heart nearly stopped when a Blastoise pop out of the pokéball. 

“So you’re from Kanto, too?” I said. 

“Guess again. I’ve just spent some time there,” the challenger replied. “Blastoise use Surf!” 

My breath caught in my throat. That second of useless banter cost me one of my most powerful Pokémon. I could only stand there and watch as the field move surf engulfed the arena and my Charizard. I cried out, hoping that it would be able to get out of the way fast enough, but I wasn’t quick enough. When the water spilled away, Charizard was laying out the ground, it’s tail fire dull. I cursed and recalled it, holding the ball close to my heart. 

“I’m sorry, Charizard,” I said. “I’ll make it up to you afterwards, I promise.” 

I clipped Charizards ball to my belt and plucked off the next one. I didn’t have any grass type Pokémon to counter the Blastiose, but I did have a Pokémon that would act as a good buffer. Tossing the pokéball out into the field, I watched satisfactorily as my Sylveon threw back it’s head, looking ready to battle. 

Without hesitating a second, I shouted out to my Pokémon. “Sylveon use Moonblast!” 

I grinned in satisfaction as the move hit the Blastoise square in center mass. Once again it wasn’t enough to knock the Pokémon out, but it was enough to knock it back a few feet. 

“Now use Draining Kiss!” 

“Blastoise dodge and then use Ice Beam!” 

The Blastoise dodged my Sylveon before bowing over and aiming the cannons on its back. Seconds later, ice shot out of it, hitting Sylveon. Steam and frost covered the field and the challenger and I waited several seconds as it disappeared to see what happened. When it finally dissipated, my Sylveon was frozen solid and I cursed. I quickly dug into my bag to get a Freeze Heal. 

“Use Outrage!” The challenger shouted just as I used the Freeze Heal on Sylveon. 

I cursed as it was hit. “Use Draining Kiss!” I shouted again. 

The move landed this time and the Blastoise fainted while my Sylveon looked more healthy. The battle went back and forth from then on. The challenger sent out Porygon-Z which just barely managed to knock out my Sylveon. When Sylveon was down, the next Pokémon I sent out was Lycanroc which finished off Porygon-Z. 

When the Challenger sent out a Lucario which was revealed as a Zoroark by my Lycanroc I started to realize who I was facing. There was only one person that I knew that had a Zoroark, but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Zorua were common enough when caught by the trainers school. But I couldn’t shake the familiarness of the Pokémon. I couldn’t knockout Zoroark with Lycanroc so I had sent out Haunter. 

I felt terrible, but the only way that I could knock out the Zoroark was to use Haunter’s Destiny Bond. When Haunter fainted, so did the Zoroark. Which left both the challenger and me down to two Pokémon. I gripped my second to last pokéball, the one that held my first Pokémon, the one that saved me on Route 1 all those years ago, and threw it onto the field. 

Torracat appeared, ready to take on the next Pokémon, which happened to be a real Lucario. It was a hard fought battle, but alas, my Torracat lost. A pit in my stomach formed as I realized that there was a very real possibility that this mysterious trainer would knock me off my throne. I guessed that it wouldn’t be too bad. I would be able to focus on my Pokémon breeding and I would have the time to take down Team Sun and then maybe go find Gladion. 

Just when I started to give up, I noticed that the challengers Lucario was looking worn out. Frowning deeply, I picked up my Ultra Ball. My ace in the hole. The Pokémon that I kept with me ever since I became champion. The one that missed Gladion as much as I did. I threw it out into the field. 

“Silvally, I choose you!” I said. “Use Multi-Attack!” 

The second Silvally appeared onto the field, it rushed at the Lucario and used the fire-type Multi-Attack as I typically kept the Fire Memory with it. Lucario fainted and I let out a relieved sigh. Maybe I could win this after all. 

“I have to give you props for getting this far against me,” the challenger said. “Considering I’ve gotten a lot stronger since the last time we met.” 

“Last time…?” I said. “We know each other?” 

“I’d have thought you’d have figured it out by now,” replied the challenger and tossed out a pokéball onto the field. 

Another Silvally appeared, this one with green plumage so I knew that it was holding the Grass Memory. But that wasn’t what shocked me the most. It was the fact that this challenger had a Silvally as well. There were only three that I knew of. I had one and Gladion had the other two. But… he could have given a Silvally to someone else. He gave one to me, after all. 

Instead of dwelling on it, I narrowed my eyes at my challenger. “Who are you?” 

“I think you should know by now,” he said. “Silvally use Crush Claw!” 

“Use Heal Block!” I cried. The opposing Silvally’s Crush Claw reflected off of my Silvally’s block. “Now use Flamethrower!” 

Fire exploded form my Silvally’s mouth and hit the opposing Silvally who couldn’t get out of the way in time. It almost went down and looked worse for wear. I felt bad for the Pokémon but I had to win this battle. I  _ had _ to. 

“Use Crunch!” the challenger said. 

The opposing Silvally managed to get up and rushed at my Silvally. It sank its teeth into my Pokémon neck. I felt a pang in my heart as my Silvally cried out in pain and I clenched my fist and gritted my teeth. 

“Use Flamethrower again!” I cried.

My heart was pounding. I thought the attack was going to miss. But amazingly, my Silvally managed to get out of the vice grip of the challengers and use Flamethrower again. The fire hit it right in the face. Smoke filled the air and when it dissipated, the opposing Silvally lay on the ground, knocked out. 

I let out a heavy sigh of relief and ran to my Silvally. I pulled out some pokébeans and held them up for it to eat. “You did great,” I said. 

I turned and watched as the challenger walked over to his fainted Pokémon and hold up a pokéball. He crouched and touched the ball to the Pokémon forehead. His Silvally returned to it and when it was gone he held the ball up. 

“You did well. I guess we still need more training,” he said and stood up turning to me. 

I looked at him, rubbing Silvally’s neck. “You going to tell me who you are?” 

“Didn’t think you needed confirmation,” he said before he lowered his hood. “It’s been a while… _____.” 

My breath caught in my throat as I looked at the boy that I knew. He grew up, became a man, but he still looked mostly the same. All of his baby fat was gone, though. But his eyes were the same and the way he held himself. 

“Gladion…” I breathed. 


	4. Chapter 4

"Gladion... what are you...?" I said as I stared at him.

"I think that should be obvious," he said and walked over to me. My breath caught in my throat and part of me thought it was to see me. "I came to challenge the champion. I didn't think it was still you, though."

I felt my heart sink and my expression changed from an awestruck look to a blank one. "Still the same old Gladion, I see."

"Same old, _____," he said.

Without another word about that, I held out my hands. He looked at them strangely. "Give me your Pokémon. I'll heal them."

He blinked before detaching the six pokéballs from his hip. He placed the small balls in my hands and I walked back to the throne. Behind it I had one of those restore tables they had in the Pokémon centers installed, so I didn't need to make the trip down from Mount Lanikila every time I needed to heal my own Pokémon between battles. I pressed the buttons on the balls, expanding them before placing them in the slots and turning the machine on.

Within seconds they were done. So I brought the balls back to Gladion before returning Silvally to its pokéball and doing the same with my own Pokémon. I could feel Gladion looking at me as I did this, not saying a word. Maybe he was calculating the next thing to say, just like I was. Or maybe he just didn't get the message that he should just leave. When the machine was finally done healing my Pokémon, he spoke.

"It is good to see you again," Gladion said. "I thought that I'd have to go looking for you."

"Why didn't you join the party on Iki Island after I became champion?" I blurted out without thinking.

Gladion blinked, looking rather taken back by the question. "Think back to what I said before you helped me save the Aether Foundation," he said. "Remember what I said?"

I nodded and put a hand over my eye, deepening my voice to mock him as best I could. " _I know we aren't friends, but we aren't enemies either_ ," I said in my mock Gladion voice. "Something to that effect."

"Exactly. We were enemies, and then partners in battle. But we were never really friends. I didn't think it would matter if I didn't join in," he said.

"Maybe it would have been different if I hadn't noticed you in the background," I said and looked to the side, sticking my hands in my pocket. "You looked like you wanted to join in, but instead you just smiled and left. Not so much as a good bye. I had to find out from Lillie that you took off to Kanto. And then you told Ms. Wicke to give me Type: Null. You could have just given it to me yourself you know."

Gladion rolled his eyes and shook his head. "It's really not that easy," he said. "We're not friends. We never really were. What would you have thought if I just went up to you and gave you the pokéball with Null in it?"

"I would have thought that we were friends," I said. "I already thought that we were."

"You're still the same little girl from ten years ago. So naive," he said and sighed. "God, _____, why are you so..."

"So what? Infuriating? Childish?" I put my hands on my hips and gave him a hard look.

"Trusting," he said. "Stuff like that, powerful trainer or otherwise, will just get you hurt. You didn't even have the good sense not to tell me who you were the first time we met."

"Well sorry I like to look for the good in people," I said and motioned to him. "And what do you know, I was right. You're a good person and I wanted us to be friends."

"I'm back now," he said and crossed his arms, looking to the side. "I'm a different person then I was back then--"

"Could have fooled me," I interrupted.

"Can I finish?" he said and looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. I made a motion with my hand for him to continue. "We can try being friends now, if that's what you really want."

I eyed him, looking him up and down. I played on the act that I was still upset with him for just up and leaving before I simply shrugged and relaxed into a more comfortable, less aggressive standing position. I grinned at him.

"I think I can live with that," I said. "So have you seen Lillie yet?"

Gladion just stood there for a moment with the dumbest expression on his face. Almost like he believed that I was actually upset. I waved my hand in front of his face, snapping my fingers a few times, to which he swatted at it with his own. He let out a sigh and shook his head.

"No. I haven't been back to the Aether Foundation yet," he said. "I came right to the Pokémon League. Didn't know you'd still be champion though after all these years."

I opened my mouth to say something but was cut off when another voice spoke.

"She won't be for very long," the voice said.

It was feminine and Gladion and I both turned. Walking up the steps was a woman with a cloak wrapped around her body. There was a hood over her face as well, but even if we tried to see under it, it wouldn't matter. She was wearing a mask as well. I frowned and stepped in front of Gladion. Not to protect him, but because I was the champion and this was my battle.

"Care to share your name with me, then, Challenger?" I said. "If you're so certain you're going to defeat me."

The woman laughed and I frowned. I felt Gladion move to take a step forward but I threw my arm out to stop him. He wasn't the Champion and I could take care of this myself. Both of us watched as the woman started to laugh before she grabbed the tie of the cloak and pulled it, throwing the garment to the side.

Underneath the cloak was the telltale uniform of Team Sun. she wore a white crop top with the insignia of the ruins where we saved Nebby and raised Solgaleo. A flared out black skirt hung on her hips with knee high black boots. Over the crop top was a black short sleeved zip up jacket. I glared immediately.

"How did _you_ get into the Pokémon League?" I said and reached for my Pokémon.

"Disguise, obviously," the woman said. "And since I'm here and I'm a challenger, I, proud member of Team Sun will usurp the Kantonian Champion of Alola and become the new Champion, dawning a new era of revival for Alola and the Alolan Pokémon!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Team Sun?" Gladion said.

The woman laughed and turned to look at him. "Clearly you're not from around here," she said. "Once I take care of the champion and take her Pokémon I'll come for yours. Alola should be kept pure for the Pokémon to thrive, not be tainted with filth from other regions."

Gladion raises an eyebrow and looked at me. "You sure you got this?" He said. "She looks determined."

I gave him a look. "Who do you think you're talking to?" I said. "You have let yet to beat me, ever. I can handle her."

"If you're sure," he said and went to go stand by the throne.

I walked up to the top of the battle field while the second mysterious challenger stood at the other end. I grabbed my pokéball, this time deciding to start with Silvally because I was not about to go easy on a grunt from Team Sun. The Team Sun Member threw out an Alolan Persian.

I hated those Pokémon. Hated the way they looked. The Kantonian ones looked so much better than their Alolan counterparts. They were typically much weaker than the Kantonian Persian, too. As the Pokémon settled on the field, I threw out my own pokéball and Silvally appeared, shaking its head.

"All right, Silvally, get ready!" I said. "Use Ice Beam!"

Silvally made a noise of approval before it bucked and used the move. For several long seconds, I wasn't sure if it took, but when the mist cleared, Persian was frozen.

"Good! No use Flamethrower!"

The opponent sputtered as I used two opposite attacks in rapid succession, but damn, I didn't care. These Team Sun assholes needed to know what happened when they messed with the reigning Champion. When the steam dissipated, the Persian was fainted on the ground. I smirked.

"Good job, Silvally! Now return," I said and held out the pokéball. I wanted to wait to see what Pokémon they sent out next.

"Go, Ninetails!"

I gave a cocky smirk and picked out a different pokéball. "Charizard, I choose you!"

"Ninetails use Ice Beam!"

"You really think Ice works against Fire?" I said and laughed. "Charizard dodge and use Fire Burst!"

We could only watch as the Ice Beam narrowly missed my Charizard and my Pokémon shoot a burst of fire at the ice Type Alolan Pokémon. I didn't even have to hold my breath to see if it worked. I already knew. The amount of times I've had to battle against ice type Pokémon with my Charizard left me knowing that nothing could defeat it.

The woman cursed and recalled the Pokémon before sending out an Alolan Sandslash. I raised an eyebrow. And Ice and Steel type. Both weak to fire. This opponent was stupid...

"Did you learn nothing from the last ice type you used?" I said.

If the children I faced in the past saw me now, I'm sure they would have started crying.

"Don't underestimate my power," the challenger said.

"I think you're overestimating yourself, little girl," I said, getting cocky.

"I'm older then you, Champion," the woman said. "Sandslash, use Metal Claw!"

"Charizard use Flamethrower!"

Right after the Sandslash's Metal Claw hit my Pokémon, when it was close enough that there was no way the move would miss, Charizard used Flamethrower. I smirked as the opposing Pokémon went down and a red beam came out and recalled the Pokémon. Suspecting that she that she had learned her lesson about Ice type Pokémon, I recalled Charizard as well, who looked rather pleased with himself, and waited for her next Pokémon.

"Marowak!"

For once, I actually preferred the Alolan Marowak over the Kantonian. I actually liked that he held a bone that was on fire on each side. I thought it was kind of funny and a little adorable. Either way, I knew what Pokémon I would use against this Marowak.

"Go Haunter!" I shouted.

My ghost type partner roared when it was released from its Dusk Ball. I just prayed that it was faster than the opposing Marowak.

"Haunter use Shadow ball!" I said.

"Marowak use Flame Wheel!"

I made a confused face. Clearly this challenger knew nothing about the type matchups. Even if Haunter was weak to Dark and Ghost types, it wasn't weak to Fire types. If this person really wanted to beat me like she said she wanted to, then it should have used something like Shadowball or Shadow Punch or other Ghost type moves.

The Flame Wheel didn't have much effect on my Pokémon and Haunter used the attack I knew would knock out the opposing Marowak in one hit. It fainted and my Haunter let out a pleased noise.

Then I watched absolutely dumbfounded as the challenger sent out the Alolan Raichu. I looked at her.

"Are you cocky or just plain stupid?" I said. "Do you know anything about type matchups?"

"I know," the challenger said. "But I'm going to prove that Alolan Pokémon are stronger, despite the type charts."

"You're doing a pretty piss poor job of it," I said, causing Gladion to chuckle behind me.

"Raichu use Thunderbolt!"

I tried not to get too frustrated at how stupid this trainer was before I took the stance to start summoning Haunter's Z-Power from the Z-Crystal it was holding. When the dance was completed, feeling Gladion's eyes on me which I heartily ignored, Haunter's Z-Power flared to life.

"Use Never-Ending Nightmare!" I shouted.

Haunter screeched and Gladion and I watched as the Raichu was swallowed up in darkness. Hands shot out of the ground and covered and when the sight of the Z-Power Move was over, Raichu lay on the ground. The woman recalled the Pokémon and sent out Muk.

"All right, Haunter, great job!" I said. "Return!"

Clipping its pokéball back to my belt I pulled out Silvally's again and threw it out. After clipping the ball back to my belt I turned to Gladion and half out my hand. I knew he had the memory discs in his jacket. I saw them when we were battling.

"Just use yours," he said. "You have all of them already."

"Just hand it over," I said.

He sighed and pulled open the right side of his jacket and handed me the Ground Memory. I took it and turned to my Pokémon.

"Get ready Silvally!" I said and threw the disc at it.

Silvally got it in the drive on the side of its head and the plumage changed colors. From Fire Red to Ground Brown. The Fire Memory shot back towards me and I caught it between two fingers. God I loved having practiced that at home. it always looked so bad ass. Honestly though, I couldn't believe that the challenger was polite enough to simply wait around for me to finish changing Silvally's type, but... I wasn't about to complain.

"Now use Multi-Attack!" I said.

"Muk use Gunk-Shot!"

Silvally let out a mighty roar and attacked the Muk. Silvally was just a hair faster and when its attack hit the opposing Pokémon with a Ground type Multi-Attack the Pokémon fell to the ground. I smirked and walked up to my Pokémon, changing the type memory back to fire so I could return the Ground Memory to Gladion. The challenger returned her Pokémon and glared hard at me.

"That's cheating!" The woman said. "Changing items of a Pokémon during battle!"

"In official battles," I said and looked blankly at the woman, petting my Silvally. "This wasn't an official battle."

"And why not? I'm a challenger just like the rest of them!"

"You're not a challenger. You're a member of Team Sun and are banned from the Pokémon League. This battle was not official therefore the rules don't apply."

The woman took a step forward. "So what you're saying is that you don't think you're strong enough to defeat me using official rules so you’re hiding behind your banning of Team Sun?"

"Not... strong enough?" I said and looked at Gladion with a clear expression of disbelief. "Did you not just see me basically knock all of her Pokémon out in one shot?"

"I saw," Gladion said and looked at the woman. "I think it best that you just run along home."

The woman glared under her mask. "This isn't over champion!" She said before she turned on her heel and stormed out of the Pokémon League. I sighed and returned Silvally to my pokéball before I went to Gladion and handed him back the Ground Memory.

"So... what was that all about?"

"It's... a really long and involved story," I said and ran a hand through my hair.

"I have time. I didn't really plan on doing anything after defeating the champion."

"You mean getting your ass kicked by the champion," I said.

"As I recall, you struggled a bit," Gladion replied and smirked a bit.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm going to be meeting up with Hau at the Malasada place on Melemele Island. You're welcome to tag along so I can fill you in."

Gladion nodded. "All right. I'll meet you there, then."


	6. Chapter 6

We both landed in front of the malasada shop and recalled our Pokémon. I turned to look at Gladion to ask if he was ready to go inside but couldn't help but giggle. His hair was so wind whipped and tangled that it was really funny looking. Almost without thinking, I reached up and started to fix it. He gave me a strange look, which I promptly ignored.

"You know yours doesn't look unscathed either," Gladion said and looked to the side.

"Yes, but I carry around a brush in my bag. Despite your longer hair now, I doubt you do," I said. "And your utter lack of caring."

"Hey, I care about things!" He protested.

"Name one thing except your Pokémon," I said and smirked at him, dropping my hand from messing with his hair to get the brush out of my bag and fix my own.

I noticed briefly the red that tinted Gladion's cheeks and he turned his head to the side. "Let's just get inside before people think we're a couple of weirdoes for just standing out here."

"Fine, fine," I said. "Even though you already are a weirdo."

Gladion ignored me and walked to the door, holding it open for me. I thanked him politely before walking up to the counter and getting a table for three. We were promptly seated and ordered malasadas for ourselves. Once we were settled, Gladion but his elbows on the table and his chin in the palm of one of his hands.

"So tell me what I missed," he said.

"You mean Lillie hasn't been keeping you informed while you were on your journey?" I said, half teasing.

Gladion shook his head. "No. We usually talked business when she called."

"Ah, I see, well then I guess I should start from the beginning."

Gladion nodded and gave me a look that told me to start talking. I let out a sigh and ran a hand through my hair. Leaning back against the booth, I started talking.

"Since you've been gone, Alola's changed a lot. The Island Challenge changed to mix Kantonian and Alolan Traditions," I started.

"How is this relevant?" Gladion said.

"It'll make sense," I said. "The Challenge Trials changed. Instead of Trials, they're gym battles now. The Trial Captains became the leaders of the gym. And we've been letting people from all regions take on the challenge, whether they are blessed by the Tapu or not. A lot of new tourists have been coming because of that."

The waitress returned with our malasada's and I nodded to her in thanks. I couldn't help but notice that her hand lingered just a bit as she put down Gladion's and I raised an eyebrow as she left. Gladion only shrugged.

"Anyway... more tourists mean more money for the island businesses, you know? So not many people have been complaining. We've also been seeing a lot of Pokémon breeding between Alolan and Kantonian Pokémon, too. You can find both Kantonian and Alolan Meowth and Rattata in Alolan now. Same thing with Grimer," I explained. "Some people, Alolan natives mostly, have been really upset about that. They don't like that Alola's changed like this, that the Island Challenge changed and that the Alolan Pokémon are being 'tainted' with Kantonian influence."

"You seem to know a lot about them," Gladion said.

I dug into my bag and pulled out a letter. "I haven't told Lillie or Hau about this yet, but I found this in my mailbox a week ago."

I passed the note across the table and handed it over to him. It was a note detailing that the members of Team Sun would be coming after me, attempting to knock me off my throne as champion. They believed that I was the root of all evil because before I had saved Alola from Necrozma and the Ultra Wormholes with Lillie, Hau and Gladion, Alola was opened up to the "disgusting" ways of Kanto. The note even detailed key points of their plan, which included stealing my Pokémon and return Alola to what it once was. For some reason they thought the only way to do that was by dethroning what they called "The Kantonian Champion of Alola". Me. Towards the end of letter, they actually went so far as to call me a coward for banning Team Sun from the Pokémon League. When Gladion finished reading, he looked at me, an eyebrow raised.

I nodded. "Yeah. They really don't like me. So much so that they resorted to melodrama," I said, half sarcastically.

"They need to take a page or two out of Giovanni's book to actually be threatening," Gladion said.

"Even Giovanni wasn't all that threatening," I replied and rolled my eyes. "Either way, those people who weren't happy about the mixing of cultures and the bastardization of the Island Challenge formed a team bent on trying to restore Alola. They call themselves Team Sun. We don't know who their leader is or what their real goal really is. But the underlings of Team Sun seem to be gathering under the idea that they can change Alola back."

"But that's impossible," Gladion said. "It's been ten years. Things like this are already engrained. What are they going to do? Steal the Pokémon Kantonian Pokémon and send them away? And what about the Island Challenge? How do they expect to bring that back?"

"Well... you've basically said what they're trying to do about the Pokémon," I said. "They've been attacking trainers from outside of Alola, from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Unova... everywhere except here. When they win a battle, usually by cheating, they steal the trainers Pokémon and run off. We... don't know what they do with them after that.

"They even found out about my... extracurricular activities too," I added and ran a hand through my hair.

"Extracurricular activities?" Gladion said.

"I breed Pokémon. Usually the starters from the other regions and Pokémon I've taken a fondness to through my travels. Even some rare Pokémon. I sell them to make a little extra cash to support my breeding and the way I care for my Pokémon," I explained. "But they found out about it, where I lived two years ago. They vandalized my house and tore down my breeding facilities and stole the unhatched eggs and the Totodile I was breeding. I had to get a new one... that was a huge pain. But that's beside the point." I shook the thought away before continuing, "Lillie and Hau had to help me move to a new place. Only they, along with Kukui and my mother, know where I live now."

"Seems a lot has happened to you over the years," Gladion said thoughtfully.

I nodded. "A lot's happened to all of us, except Hau, but we think it's because he's Kahuna and born and raised in Alola," I said.

"All right, so what happened next?" Gladion asked.

"Not much aside from random attacks on the trainers from other regions and what happened just today," I said. "It's been a crazy few years."

"I can tell," he said. "So... what are you going to do about the Team Sun?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Who said anything about me doing anything about it?"

Gladion gave me a look. "It's you," he said. "You're the hero who saved Alola and the Island Champion. I know you're planning to do something."

"I had help saving Alola," I said. "You helped. So did Lillie and Hau."

"Yeah, but you're the one who went through the Ultra Wormhole and calmed Necrozma. It doesn't matter what Lillie, Hau and I did. You're the one that got all the credit," he said.

"I don't want it, though. It's a lot to live up to."

"Too bad, it's yours," he said and smirked. "So what's the plan?"

"The plan is there is no plan. Hau, Lillie and I just decided to get actively involved yesterday," I said. "We haven't talked about logistics today. That's why I was meeting with Hau today."

"Couldn't you have just talked at the League? He's a member of the Elite Four," Gladion said.

"By the way," I said, changing the subject oh so subtly, "how did your battle against him go?"

Gladion saw through what I did and rolled his eyes, but still answered my question. "It wasn't much of a battle. He didn't put up much of a fight."

I opened my mouth to ask more, but didn't get the chance when someone else spoke behind us.

"Whoa! Gladion! When did you get back?!"

I turned around to face Hau who was standing next to my booth. I casually slid over while he took the seat next to me and I couldn't help but giggle.

"You mean you don't know?" I asked.

Hau looked at me curiously. "Don't know what?"

"I kicked your ass in the Pokémon League less than an hour ago," Gladion said and his gaze slid from me to Hau rather lazily. His chin was still resting in his hand.

Hau looked at Gladion absolutely dumbfounded. "Wait... that was you?!"

I flinched away from his shriek. "Volume," I chided, glaring at my friend.

"No way! You were crazy strong," he said and looked at me. "Do I have to start calling him Champion now?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm still champion. But that's beside the point."

But Hau wasn't listening. "I want a rematch!"

"Sorry, but I decline," Gladion said.

"Aw, come on! A real battle, where I'm not curbing my strength to give _____ here some opponents every few days," Hau said.

"I'll pass," he said again.

"Boys, boys, fight nicely," I said. "Can we not act like children here?"

"Well where can we act like children?" Hau asked and put his arm around my shoulders teasingly.

I could feel Gladion watching me as I glared at Hau again. "How about in your own house when I'm not there?"

"Aw, you're no fun," he said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I replied and rolled my eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

"So where's Lillie?" Gladion asked, effectively stopping my banter with Hau.

"Aether Paradise," Hau said before I could. "We weren't expecting to meet up with her today, though."

I looked at Hau and moved his arm off my shoulder. "Though, with what happened with Team Sun and Gladion being back, maybe we should stop by and talk to her," she said. "We might need to go after Team Sun now after the stunt they pulled."

"Stunt?" Hau asked.

"The challenger after Gladion, the masked one?" I asked. "Did she come by you?"

"Of course she did. She wouldn't have been able to open the warp gate if she hadn't," Hau said. "Why?"

"She was a member of Team Sun."

"WHAT!?" Hau shouted.

I flinched back from his shout. "Volume," I hissed. "Yeah, she was Team Sun."

Hau sat back in his seat and just stared for a really long time. Gladion reached over and snapped his fingers in the other man’s face, causing Hau to finally blink and say something.

"Damn it," he cursed. "I'm so sorry..."

"No. You don't need to apologize. She fooled all of the Elite Four," I said and put a hand on his arm lightly. "Gladion and I didn't even know who she was until she revealed herself."

Hau looked down. "I still should have known. There’s not a trainer in Alola that has a team of only Alolan Pokémon."

"Hau," I said firmly. "Don't beat yourself up over this, really. It's not the end of the world. I beat her so whatever she thought she would accomplish failed. It just means that we have to go after them now. Before they try it again."

"All right..." Hau said. "Let’s go get Lillie then."

"We'll use my boat at the pier," Gladion said and I looked up at him.

I gave him a smile and nodded. "All right."

"Let me just get some malasadas first," Hau said, sounding dejected.

"Same old, Hau," I said and rolled my eyes with a small smile. "Meet us at the pier, then."

Hau let me out of the booth and Gladion stood up. The two of us left Hau to order his favorite treat while we walked to the docks. It didn't take long to get there and when we arrived, I sat down at the end of the pier, looking out at the horizon. I felt Gladion walk up and stand behind me.

I leaned back on my hands and leaned my head back to look at him. His hood was up again and he looked down at me.

"Sit," I said. "You look like a creeper standing behind a defenseless woman on the docks."

"Where's the defenseless woman?" Gladion asked, but still sat down next to me.

I gave him a wounded look. "Gee, thanks," I said and sat up.

Gladion only shook his head before turning to look at the horizon, too. We sat like that, in a companionable, comfortable silence, for some time. It was nice, I had to admit. I haven't ever really had the chance to just sit with someone close to me and thing. Hau was almost always talking and I didn't see Lillie enough to actually sit with her and not talk.

But then Gladion spoke.

"So... you and Hau?" He said.

His voice was neutral and if I hadn't known any better, I would have thought he didn't care. I turned and looked at him to see he wasn't looking at me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you ask?"

He looked at me then. "Just wondering," he said and gave me a half shrug.

I shook my head. "No. Hau just likes messing with me," I said.

"Oh," Gladion said and I almost thought I saw relief in his eyes. "I see."

The corners of my lips quirked up just a bit and I turned to look at the horizon again. "Why are you _just wondering_?" I said.

"Just curious," he said. "I'd have thought you'd have had a boyfriend by now."

"You mean in the ten years you've been gone?" I saw him nod out of the corner of my eyes. "Well... I haven't stayed single if that's what you think."

His eyes widened a faction of an inch. "So... you do have a boyfriend?"

I turned and looked at him again and shook my head. "No. Why do you care so much about that, though? You're like my Charizard."

Gladion opened his mouth to answer, but did get the chance when were heard Hau shout.

"Gladion! _____!" He said and we both turned to look at him. He was running up with an armful of malasadas and a grin on his face. "Let’s get going!"

I giggled a bit and shook my head. "Same old Hau."

Gladion quirked an awkward little smile of his own and nodded. "Yeah, same old Hau."

*     *     *

The boat ride to Aether Paradise was mostly silent, except for the roar of the boats engines. Hau was happily eating his malasadas in the hull of the ship. Gladion was steering and I was standing at the front, the wind whipping through my hair. Gladion didn't pester me any more about if I had a boyfriend or not and I didn't want to distract him while he was driving to ask about why he was so curious.

I couldn't help but feel a little hopeful as to why he could have been asking. In my experience, people didn't get hung up about whether you were seeing someone unless they were interested. I found myself smiling when I thought that Gladion might have feelings for me. But then I remembered that he had been gone for ten years. A lot could have happened.

He could have left someone in another region, or even decided that, while he was gone, he wasn't interested in me. I remember Lillie mentioning to me that before Gladion left, he was in his room, trying to write out a suitable note for me to give with Silvally. I remember her laughing when she recalled that he almost wrote "Love, Gladion" before crumpling the ball of paper up and throwing it across the room. We made jokes that he didn't know how to end a letter to a friend, because honestly? He probably didn't really have friends when he was running with Team Skull.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice that we docked at Aether Paradise. Gladion had to walk up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder before I finally returned to my senses. I blinked a few times.

"We're here," he said.

"Oh, right, yeah," I replied and shook the thoughts from my head.

"You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Tell ya later," I said.

Gladion nodded and his arm slid off my shoulder, down my arm and finally moved to his pocket after it passed my elbow. I mentally cursed Alola's nice weather because it meant that I ran around in sleeveless shirts and shorts so I could still feel the path his hand took, gooseflesh rising on my skin.

"Let's go then," he said and walked off the boat.

I followed behind him. He got on the docks first and offered up a hand to me, like a gentleman. I took it and walked down the rickety platform onto dry land. Hau was standing behind him looking at the two of us.

"Ready to go find Lillie?" He said.

Gladion and I nodded. "If I know her, she's probably in the mansion or the lab," Gladion said.

"Mansion," Hau said. "It's lunch time, so she'll be eating. We should check there first."

"Then lead the way Sir Know-It-All," I said and jokingly saluted.


	8. Chapter 8

The area by the docks was normal. The Aether Foundation Employees blissfully unaware of what was going on in the floors above them. Gladion, Hau and I made our way to the elevator where Gladion punched in his password. The elevator took us upstairs and that’s when we noticed everything wasn't as it seemed.

We were expecting it to take us to the floor that lead to the mansion, but instead it took us to the conservation area, completely bypassing the mansion. The sight before our eyes horrified us.

The Pokémon that were kept there were running around, terrified, as members of Team Sun were running around with nets trying to catch them. Some were already captured and the Team Sun grunts who had them were making their way back to the elevator. I clapped my hands over my mouth, my eyes widening. Gladion looked positively pissed off and Hau reached for his pokéballs.

I knew Team Sun meant business, but to go after the Aether Foundation? The foundation that, after Lusamine, dedicated itself to the protection of endangered Pokémon? This was something else entirely. When the Team Sun members neared the elevator and saw that it wasn't unoccupied, I reached for my pokéball, an aura of rage and disgust surrounding me.

"Where is the president?" I growled at the nearest grunt.

Either the grunt was stupid or just couldn't pick up on how pissed I was because the bastard challenged me. "Beat me and I'll tell you," he said, a cocky air about the man.

I reached for the pokéball that contained Silvally. I was about to throw it when Gladion caught my arm. I shot a glare at him and was about to yell at him for stopping me, but he was looking at Hau. My expression softened and I looked at my friend.

Hau was shaking, his head bowed. His hands were gripping his pokéball so hard that his knuckles were turning white and I almost thought that he would crush the device. I lowered my arm and took a step back while Gladion let go, putting his hands in his pockets.

"You don't even know how big of a mistake it was to attack the Aether Foundation," Hau said and raised his pokéball. "Now tell me where Lillie is!"

The battle was quick. The Grunt, despite his big talk, wasn't much of a challenge. Especially for a member of the Elite Four. Guess this dumbass didn't really know who we were. Just goes to show just how educated these people were. After Hau returned Decidueye to its pokéball, he walked up to the fallen Grunt. He took the Pokémon out of the bag and released it again before crouching by his head.

"So I'll ask this one more time," he said and smiled a little too sweetly to the man. "Where is Lillie?"

Gladion leaned over. "I didn't know he could be so scary," he whispered in my ear.

I nodded. "He learned a few tricks while you were away."

The grunt sputtered. "I-I don't know!! B-Blayne went after her when we got here! I think they went to the labs!"

"Blayne? Who's Blayne? A new friend?" Hau said with that still too sweet smile.

The grunt covered his face with his arms. "Please don't hurt me!!"

I walked up to Hau and put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, we won't get any more information out of him. Let's try someone else."

Hau turned and looked at me and the creepy smile melted away into a look of intense worry. "What if we don't get to her in time?"

"The Labs have locks with special pass codes," Gladion said. "If Lillie is in one of them, then it would take some time for this Blayne person to get in there. We'll just have to trust that Lillie is smart enough to lock herself in one."

Hau nodded and stood up. "All right. Let's hurry though."

I nodded. "We will. Let's go."

We went back to the elevator and Gladion punched in his code so it could take us to the labs. There was one problem though. After he punched in his code, a noise sounded and I looked over his shoulder.

"Access Denied" in big red letters blinked across the screen. Gladion frowned and punched the code again. It still didn't work and he slammed his fist against the machine. I flinched back a bit.

"They changed to code," he cursed. "We're going to have to find out which one of them knows what it is before we can get downstairs.

"That could take forever!" Hau said.

"Not if we split up," I said. "We'll take care of everyone we can and gather as much information, praying one of them knows the code."

Gladion looked at me a second before he nodded. "Yeah. All right. Let’s do it."

"All right. Meet back here, then," I said and turned on my heel before taking off.

*     *     *

When we returned to the elevator, Gladion was already at the computer. I walked up to him.

"Did you find the code?" I asked.

He nodded. "As luck would have it," he said. "Or bad luck, it was the last grunt I faced that knew it."

Hau ran up to us and doubled over, his hands on his knees. "Did you guys get the code? I didn't get anything from my batch."

"Gladion got it," I said. "I did find out some things though about these Team Sun yahoos, though."

"Yeah?" Hau said and flopped down on the ground as Gladion punched in the code and the elevator started moving.

I nodded. "Aside from the things we already know, like they want to change Alola back to what it was before I came here, they came here to get the legendary Pokémon, Solgaleo, Lunala and Necrozma. Apparently their leader Blayne couldn't beat me without the legendary Pokémon so she's going to try again with the legendary Pokémon."

"You mean that woman that challenged you after I did was the leader of Team Sun?" Gladion said, a little incredulously.

"Apparently so," I said.

"With a leader like that, I'm surprised the grunts are even halfway capable," Gladion said and shook his head, leaning against the railing as the elevator descended to the depths of the Aether Foundation.

"Yeah, seriously," I said. "Anyway, after they defeat me, they want to use Necrozma to steal away the Pokémon that came from other regions."

"I think they're misunderstanding what exactly it is that Necrozma does," Hau said.

"No one ever claimed these people were smart." I sighed. "They also are going to go around destroying the gyms, too."

"How are they going to manage that?" Gladion asked.

"I actually know the answer to that one," Hau said. "One of them said that they were collecting Voltorb and Machamp. That they want these Pokémon to tear down the gyms."

"While the leaders are still in there!?" I said.

"I don't know. All I know is that while they're tearing down the gyms, the leaders will be challenged so... I'm not sure," Hau said.

I felt sick to my stomach and leaned back against the railing, gripping it so tightly. Gladion walked across the elevator and stood next to me, putting his hand on my back lightly. It was a nice gesture, but I didn't think anything could comfort me. The thought of Illima, Kaiwe... Mallow and Lana... everyone getting their gyms torn down right on top of them.

"We won't let that happen," Gladion said and looked at me.

I lifted my head and met his eyes. The look in them... the fierce determination, the anger I reflected back at him, the disgust that this Team Sun have gone form "harmless" to essentially "terrorists"... it filled me with determination. I nodded once.

"If we have to go around to all the gyms before they get the chance to destroy them, we'll do it. We can't let them get away with this anymore," I said.

"No we won't!" Hau chimed in and Gladion and I snapped our heads to look at him.

It had only been a few seconds but I had completely forgotten that Hau was there. Gladion coughed and sidestepped away from me, dropping his hand.

"We should be at the labs soon," he said.

Just as soon as he said that, the elevator came to a halt at the ground and I let go of the railing just as it fell back into the ground. I turned towards the door that led to the labs.

"Let's do this," I said and walked off the elevator.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little short >_<"

Gladion and Hau followed behind me as I walked to the door leading to the labs. Gladion passed me and punched a code into the keypad and the doors slid open. I didn't waste any time and walked through. There weren't any grunts guarding the entrance like I was expecting.

Hau rushed passed me and started running down the hall. Gladion and I exchanged a look before following after him. The first door was closed so we assumed that no one was in there. Or... we hoped. If Lillie was in there, at the very least the Team Sun Leader Blayne wasn't in there. Then we reached the last door.

It was open and Hau was already inside. He was glaring. I peered around the corner and I saw Lillie was on the ground and the woman I faced in the Pokémon League was standing over her. In her hand was one of the Lillie's pokéballs.

"Give that back!" Hau said, kneeling by Lillie and putting his hand on her back lightly.

He didn't take his eyes off the woman.

"I won this fair and screw. It's not my fault the president of the Aether Foundation is a terrible trainer," Blayne said.

"She's only co-president," Gladion said and stepped forward. "Now give that back."

"I don't think so. I got what I came for. I think it's time for me to leave."

"You'll have to get through us first," Gladion said and I stepped forward to back him up.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Blayne said and looked at me. "It's good to see you again, Champion. next time we battle, you won't be so lucky."

I growled. "I think I like my odds against you right now," I said and reached for my pokéball.

I tried to figure out which Pokémon Blayne had stolen, but since all of Lillie's Pokémon were in Master Balls, it was impossible.

"Who said anything about battling me?" Blayne said. "Grunt! Stall them!"

I growled and tried to run towards Blayne, to stop her from getting away, but before I could, a grunt jumped in front of me.

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that," he said and I glared up at him.

"Move."

"Beat me first."

I growled again and jumped back to stand next to Gladion. I looked at him. "Ready?"

He nodded and we threw out our first Pokémon. The battle was quick. We had both sent out our Silvally and the grunts Pokémon weren't very strong. We beat them in no time, however, the second that we did, I realized exactly why Blayne had sent the trainers out to face us. It definitely wasn't because she thought they could beat us.

It was because she wanted them to distract us.

I cursed and recalled Silvally. The grunts took off after we beat then and I had half a mind to go after them. If I followed them, I would be able to find their hide out and I'd be able to take Lillie's Pokémon back. Just as I had taken a step forward, I felt someone grab my hand, stopping me in my tracks. I turned and gave a wild glare at who stopped me only to find Gladion giving me a level stare.

"Where do you think you're going?" He said.

"What does it look like?" I said. "I'm going after them."

"To do what? If you go in there halfcocked you're just going to get yourself hurt."

"I don't care. They attacked Lillie! This changes everything!"

"It changes nothing," Gladion said and his grip tightened on my hand. "I'm not letting you go in alone. Just wait. Take a breather. Let’s get prepare before we go charging in, Pokémon blazing."

I looked at him for a second before I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I stood like that for a few seconds, trying to quell my anger and rage. When I successfully calmed myself down, I opened my eyes again and looked at him.

"All right, fine. Have it your way," I said.

A ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of Gladion's mouth and he dropped my hand. "Good. Now let’s go take care of Lillie."


End file.
